Stories From California

I fell in love with being a reporter when I got an internship at the RIAS in Berlin, weeks after die Berliner Mauer between East und West came down. I moved to Los Angeles in 2003 when I was assigned to be the head of German public radio’s West coast studio. In 2008, I became the California correspondent for Weltreporter, the largest network of German freelance foreign correspondents. I mostly work for Deutsches Public Radio, LA’s NPR station KCRW, and the journalism collective RiffReporter. If you want me to write a story for your publication, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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Earbits - Artist-Driven Online Radio

“Serious musicians only gig, record - that’s their life and we want to create an outlet for them to be heard”

Joey Flores, Yotam Rosenbaum and their 10 piece funk and hip hop band The Capitalist Hippie Complex were on the road to success: they got great reviews for their first CD, opened for the Grammy-winning group Arrested Development and were ready to take on the music world.

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Food is Just Everywhere

A guest entry by my intern Lena Schütz

Food is everywhere: fast food restaurants, delis, diners, food trucks and food courts.

When it comes to the omnipresence of food, the US definitely confirms all prejudices. But being exposed to images of burgers and Co. even while watching television was new for me: flame-grilled chicken, pizza with dripping extra cheese, stuffed tacos, gigantic paper cups full of chicken wings, 6-inch sandwiches, French croissants with meat and cheese. And of course - everything served with a coke, please!

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A Coffeehouse Unplugged

“This is becoming a sanctuary where you might as well be connected with the human beings around you.”

You immediately feel the relaxed and friendly atmosphere when you step into the Downbeat Cafe in Echo Park. Writers sit typing into their computers or stare into space, others study big volumes of literature and groups talk about their next film project, annoying boyfriends or planned vacations. Nobody seems to be in a hurry and there are a lot of regulars who great each other with a few words, a smile and a friendly wave.

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German - a Fun Language to Learn

"My favorite German words are‚ 'Rücksichtnahme' und 'Glückseligkeit'"

“German is easy to learn and a beautiful language” - WHAT?

Usually I hear exactly the opposite when talking about my mother tongue. But Cristina Cuevas-Wolf loves my language! And she speaks it so perfectly--she makes it sound friendly and even fun!

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